1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to carrying cases enclosing an interior compartment accessible via a selectively openable and selectively closable compartment opening and, more particularly, to a carrying case in which an object is removable from and placeable in the interior compartment with the compartment opening closed while also being removable from and placeable in the interior compartment via the compartment opening.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Carrying cases have become very popular for use in conveniently storing and transporting various objects such as electronic devices, documents, and other personal and business effects. Conventional carrying cases generally enclose an interior defining an interior compartment accessible via a compartment opening that is selectively opened and closed via a closure of the opening. The interior compartment is adapted to hold various objects, sometimes in an organized or segregated arrangement. Many carrying cases enclose a plurality of interior compartments, each of which may be provided with its own selectively openable, selectively closable compartment opening having a closure. Some of the benefits provided by carrying cases include protecting the objects being carried, stabilizing the objects during transport and/or allowing the objects to be organized or segregated within the interior. When using conventional carrying cases, a particular object or objects carried by the carrying cases may necessarily or desirably be removed from and placed in an interior compartment with relatively great frequency. Objects which may be carried by carrying cases and which may be removed from and placed therein with relatively great frequency may be considered frequently accessed objects and may include, for example, electronic devices such as cellular phones, PDAs, personal diaries, pagers, and hand-held computers. It is often inconvenient for a user to remove a frequently accessed object from and/or to place a frequently accessed object in an interior compartment of conventional carrying cases via the compartment opening. For example, the closure of the compartment opening may be relatively difficult or inconvenient to operate; a frequently accessed object in the interior compartment may be difficult to access via the compartment opening due to its location in the interior compartment and/or the presence of other objects in the interior compartment; the carrying case may assume a considerably larger profile in an open position with the compartment opening open than in a closed position with the compartment opening closed so as to require considerable surrounding space to access the interior compartment via the compartment opening; and/or the carrying case may need to be supported or placed on a support surface in the open position.
In order to allow frequently accessed objects to be removed from and placed in a carrying case without operating the closure of a compartment opening, many conventional carrying cases have been designed with external pockets for receiving frequently accessed objects as represented by U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,752 to Southwick and No. 5,961,018 to Abeldeck et al, and by U.S. Patent Application Publications No. US2001/0039195 A1 to Mitham and No. US2001/0027834 A1 to Southwick. Although frequently accessed objects can be removed from and placed in external pockets without opening a compartment opening of the carrying cases, carrying cases having external pockets have numerous disadvantages. The external pockets are ordinarily not in communication with an interior compartment of the carrying cases such that frequently accessed objects in the external pockets cannot also be removed through the interior compartment when the corresponding compartment opening is open. In addition, frequently accessed objects may inadvertently fall out of the external pockets and be lost and/or damaged, especially when the carrying cases are dropped, tipped over, toppled or turned upside down. The pockets afford little structural protection for the objects against damage due to shocks and other impacts, even while the external location of the pockets places the objects therein at increased risk of damage from impacts. A further disadvantage associated with carrying cases having external pockets is that the objects within the pockets are usually at least partially visible from exteriorly of the carrying cases. Where the objects are perceived to be valuable, as may be the case for many electronic devices, the objects are at increased risk of theft, especially since the objects are usually quickly and easily removable from the pockets. Exposure of the objects from the external pockets, the external location of the external pockets and/or the minimal protection provided by the external pockets place the objects at greater risk of damage from external conditions such as heat, cold, fluids and chemicals to which the carrying case may be exposed. Since the objects cannot be removed from and placed in the external pockets via an interior compartment when the corresponding compartment opening is open, versatility, convenience and ease of use are greatly limited.
Some carrying cases are designed with an interior compartment for accommodating a frequently accessed object, with the interior compartment being independently accessible from exteriorly of the carrying case to permit the frequently accessed object to be removed from and placed in the interior compartment independently of a compartment opening as represented by U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,127 to Su and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,840,258 and 4,790,417 to Tomikawa et al and by Chinese Patent No. 231005. The Su patent relates to a carrying bag having a casing pivotally mounted thereto and receiving a cellular phone. The casing is pivotal out of and into an interior compartment of the carrying bag to permit the cellular phone to be removed from and placed in the interior compartment without opening the compartment opening. When the compartment opening is opened, however, the cellular phone cannot be removed from and placed in the interior compartment through the compartment opening. Also, the cellular phone is free to move within the casing as the casing is pivoted out of and into the carrying bag, thereby subjecting the cellular phone to potential damage. The Tomikawa et al and the Chinese patents disclose carrying cases having a hinged cover divided into primary and secondary cover sections that are independently openable and closable to provide access to primary and secondary interior compartments, respectively. A phone disposed in the secondary interior compartment may be removed from and placed in the carrying case by opening the secondary cover section independently of the primary cover section but the phone is not also removable from the carrying case via the primary interior compartment when only the primary cover section is open. The Tomikawa et al patents also disclose a carrying case characterized by a cover or lid having an opening communicating with a phone disposed in the interior of the carrying case and a bellows-sided panel overlying the cover. The panel forms an external compartment over the cover which is opened via a catch assembly to access the phone through the opening in the cover. Unless the external compartment is intended to hold objects, it represents wasted space that undesirably adds to the cost of materials and fabrication for the carrying case. Where the external compartment is used to contain objects, however, the objects in the compartment are not separated in any way from the phone and may undesirably contact the phone with resulting damage to the phone and/or the objects. In addition, objects in the external compartment may obstruct the opening in the cover and may need to be displaced within or removed from the external compartment to permit access to the phone. In order to remove the phone from and place the phone in the interior, the user must manually insert a hand through the opening in a cumbersome series of movements.
In view of the above, there is a need for a carrying case in which one or more objects is/are conveniently removable from and placeable in an interior compartment of the carrying case from exteriorly thereof without opening a compartment opening into the interior compartment and are also removable from and placeable in the interior compartment through the compartment opening when the compartment opening is open. The need also exists for a carrying case having an external panel defining a pop-out compartment for receiving an object and being withdrawable from an interior compartment of the carrying case in response to pivotal movement of the external panel, the pop-out compartment also being accessible via a compartment opening into the interior compartment to permit removal of the object from and placement of the object in the pop-out compartment through the compartment opening. A need further exists for a carrying case having a pop-out compartment for receiving an object and being selectively withdrawable from and retractable in an interior compartment of the carrying case for removal of the object from and placement of the object in the interior while also stabilizing the object in the pop-out compartment during withdrawal and retraction of the pop-out compartment. There is also a need for a carrying case having a pop-out compartment for receiving an object and being selectively withdrawable from and retractable in an interior compartment of the carrying case for removal of the object from and placement of the object in the interior compartment wherein the object is also protected from other objects in the interior compartment.